Gov. Gavin Newsom has put fresh money on the table for some of Northern California’s most stubborn murder mysteries, reissuing $50,000 tip rewards for three cold cases that have haunted families for years. The renewed push, announced Friday, spotlights two Butte County killings and a separate Sacramento slaying spanning from 2014 to 2021, with the hope that cash might finally loosen someone’s conscience.
In a press release from the Governor Gavin Newsom's Office, the governor said he was re-releasing $50,000 rewards to “encourage those with information to come forward” and to bolster ongoing work by local detectives. State officials cast the move as a targeted tool to breathe life into long-stalled homicide investigations and ease at least part of the burden carried by victims’ relatives.
Cases named in the announcement
According to KCRA, the Northern California list includes two Butte County victims and one from Sacramento: Marc Thompson, who was fatally shot on Sept. 3, 2014; Tyler Dickson, who was found shot while sleeping in a tent on July 3, 2021; and Anthony Barajas, who was shot in the chest in a Home Depot parking lot on June 28, 2015. Tipsters are urged to call Butte County Sheriff’s sergeants at 530-538-7671 or the Sacramento Police Department Office of Investigations at 916-808-0650.
Butte County victims and local context
Local accounts and investigators’ original statements describe Tyler Dickson as having been discovered inside a tent at the Bidwell Canyon Marina campground over the Fourth of July weekend in 2021, with no suspect ever identified. As reported by SFGATE, the case drew immediate attention but has seen few public developments since.
Marc Thompson’s 2014 death, with his burned car and body found in a remote part of Butte County, has remained a particularly raw, unresolved wound in Chico. Coverage from the Chico News & Review has chronicled how friends, family and community members have waited for answers even as the years have dragged on.
Sacramento: a brazen parking-lot slaying
In Sacramento, Anthony Barajas was killed while sitting in his vehicle in the Home Depot parking lot along Meadowview Road in June 2015. Investigators previously released surveillance footage of a vehicle of interest tied to the case. As reported by CBS Sacramento, Barajas’ family has pushed for renewed attention, and detectives are hoping the revived reward will finally prompt someone with crucial knowledge to step forward.
How the reward program works
The Governor’s Reward Program, created under state law, authorizes payments of up to $50,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in unsolved crimes. Larger rewards can be approved for certain crimes involving first responders or specified arsons. As outlined on the Governor’s rewards page, a law enforcement agency must first request the reward and document investigative work already completed before the governor can sign off.
How to submit tips
Officials are asking anyone with information to use the phone numbers listed in the announcement. KCRA notes that callers can reach Butte County Sheriff’s Sergeant Patrick McNelis or Sergeant Tristian Harper at 530-538-7671, and the Sacramento Police Office of Investigations at 916-808-0650. Rewards are only paid if tips result in an arrest and conviction, and while many departments allow anonymous leads through local tip lines or Crime Stoppers, those programs operate separately from the state reward.
For families who have watched birthdays, holidays and anniversaries go by without justice, the reissued rewards are a modest but meaningful way to keep these names in the public conversation. Community advocates point out that it often takes just one new piece of information to crack a cold case and finally deliver the closure grieving relatives have been seeking for years.
